Brothers use father’s collection of books to make unique bird houses
Books for art: Fred and Jim Williams make decorative Golden Book birdhouses out of Little Golden Books that their late father, Max Williams collected. Beacon photo by Josie Sellers
COSHOCTON – When Max Williams passed away in 2011 he had more than 800 books in his Little Golden Books collection. Two of his sons, Jim and Fred Williams are now keeping his memory alive by making decorative Golden Book birdhouses.
“There was a craft house in Findlay that made them and dad donated some of his books to,” Fred said. “They made him two and he kept one and gave me one. When he passed away I looked at it and thought I can do that too. Theirs is different than the one I designed though.”
The brothers now offer their bird houses in three sizes of Golden Books, large, medium and mini and between the books their father had and they’ve since collected the brothers can make one in almost any theme.
“If one of us doesn’t have the book we can usually get it,” Fred said.
They also can turn the smaller bird houses into Christmas ornaments.
“It’s fun to do,” Jim said. “I like trying to figure out which pages from the books look best on the outside.”
Fred also has fun making the bird houses and believes his father would be proud of them.
“He spent a lot of time collecting the books,” he said. “It’s a great way to remember Dad and use his collection in a positive manner.”
Both Fred and Jim also enjoy hearing about the Little Golden Books that their customers remember.
“‘The Poky Little Puppy’ seems to be real popular, but for me ‘The Little Red Caboose’ is the book I remember from when I was a kid,” Jim said. “I also like ‘Our Flag’ which tells the whole history of the flag.”
The brothers also get a lot of requests for Disney books.
The big bird houses are $30, the medium ones are $25 and the little ones are $20 and are available at the Cottage Gate in Roscoe Village at least until Christmas. Anyone wanting a bird house with a special theme can contact Fred at 502-0349, Jim at 294-0730 or e-mail goldenbooksmax@gmail.com.
“They are unique gifts that you can’t just go to Wal-Mart and get,” Fred said.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places
These birdhouses are amazing! Those guys have a real talent making them!